Exclusive Q&A: David Plink, CEO, Top Employers

09 Mar 2016 • by Changeboard Team

What are your current responsibilities and whats important in your day to day role

I am responsible for the growth of the Top Employers Institute and the relevance and validity of the certification. In my day to day role, it is important to ensure that the right people are in the right roles, making the right decisions.

Tell us more about Top Employers

The Top Employers Institute globally certifies excellence in the conditions that employers create for their people, and recognises companies providing excellent employee conditions for their people to develop.

We were founded in 1991 and have grown from a small publishing company 25 years ago to a company certifying more than 1,000 organisations across 102 countries today.

We are headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with offices in ten countries around the globe, and we recently opened offices in the USA and Brazil. The international character of our business is also reflected in our teams. We master a large variety of languages, and our management team comprises an interesting mix of nationalities.

What is the most rewarding and challenging parts of your role?

The most rewarding is seeing the vision that we developed eight years ago come to life and become reality.

The most challenging is aligning eighty engaged and intelligent people across ten offices, to achieve the company goals while also remaining independently responsible for their own objectives there.

Why is it important for an organisation to be recognised as a 'Top Employer'?

Recognition as a Top Employer enables companies to stand out as employer of choice. This is beneficial for all stakeholders, and in particular their current and prospective employees.

Being certified provides companies with the opportunity to celebrate their achievements and to reinforce the important role of HR in the business.

What makes a Top Employer what do we need to consider?

Our certification judges companies against nine areas of HR, with a mix of advanced, mature HR practices, and more standard practices we expect companies to have in place. Those companies that have a well-rounded HR strategy in place, who involve executive management across numerous processes (including onboarding of new hires – something I manage to get involved with!), and who utilise technology to both combine HR practices and deliver a positive employee experience, certainly stand out.

We come across more organisations with HR now part of the board, and seen as a key driver of change and improvement within the business. Our view is that HR plays a vital part in delivering organisational objectives, and companies with a solid foundation in HR will be best placed to respond to changes in the business world.

As a global HR certifier, we feel privileged that so many companies open their doors and let us take a good look at what they’re doing for their employees. It is those companies, who believe in constant development and improvement of their HR practices and employee offerings that stand to benefit most from working with us.

About Top Employers

The Top Employers Institute globally certifies excellence in the conditions that employers create for their people. Optimal employee conditions ensure that people develop themselves personally and professionally. This in turn enables companies to grow and to develop, always.

What is the most challenging part of the role?

The most challenging part of my role is aligning eighty engaged and intelligent people across ten offices, to achieve the company goals whilst also remaining independently responsible for their own objectives there.